Artist Fidencio Fifield-Perez to open Latinx Heritage Month, Sept. 15

World-renowned artist Fidencio Fifield-Perez will open Latinx Heritage Month at Illinois State University with the talk "Legalities of Being" at 7 p.m. Sept. 15, in the Normal Theater in Uptown Normal. The talk is free and open to the public.

Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Perez was raised in the United State after his family migrated. His current work examines borders, edges, and the people who must traverse them. At the talk, he will speak about immigration, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), and his art.

As a DACA artist, Fifield-Perez is keenly aware of the ways in which immigrants' bodies are debated. He uses his art to describe the ways the process of documentation shape his life. Fifield-Perez manipulates paper surfaces and maps to refer to the crafts and customs used to celebrate festivals and mourn the dead, which he learned as a child in Oaxaca. For Fifield-Perez, these techniques are a way to reconnect with a time and place no longer present.

The talk is sponsored by the University Galleries; the Latin American Latino/a Studies Department; Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program; the Department of English; the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Organization of Latino/a/x Employees (OLÉ).

For more information, email mitmor@ilstu.edu or jmont13@ilstu.edu.